Destress Yourself, It is Good for the Soul
by Soul of Horus
Summary: Wraith and Bloodhound have teamed up before, and both have something that neither can explain...


The sound of gunfire is ever-present. Bullets. Grenades. Even a couple of missile barrages in there. The last three squads were inside the ring, in Skull Town. Much to everyone's surprise, Skull Town didn't see much action this round, it was actually the least visited place this round, which was a little shock to the organizers.

Wraith was inside the buildings, weaving in and out of sight, and sometimes our reality. Her void abilities have carried her far, she has learned the hard way when she doesn't trust the voices. She has trusted them since they never seem to steer her wrong. When she awoke in that mental facility all that time ago, she knew nothing, but the one thing she _did_ know was that she had to escape. Her escape was bloody, for the ones who tried to restrain her. She opened portals to this _void_ and threw them in, effectively ending their existence. The void had henceforth named her Wraith. _**You are our Wraith, one with the shadows, listen and you will live. **_After Wraith had escaped, she broke down, and cried and sobbed, if anything, you could classify it as mentally lost and scattered. Her piercing blue eyes would gloss over when the voices made their appearance. When she wouldn't listen to them, she would be awake for days, and have nightmares when she tried to sleep. It was something she didn't want to repeat ever again.

She joined these blood games to learn more about herself, the secret facilities that were under Kings Canyon were invaluable to her, she needed answers. She would have them in time. In the back of her mind, she wondered how her squad mate was doing.

Bloodhound was on a rooftop with a Longbow DMR, watching the battle rage on, all while sending prayers to the Gods. From what Wraith had gathered, she believed Bloodhound was polytheistic, since the terms 'Gods' and 'Alfather' was used quite frequently. The gun fire in the distance ended and the announcer, well, announced that there were only two squads remaining. Bloodhound was also keeping tabs on Wraith, mysterious to everyone, even herself, but that doesn't stop Bloodhound. They wanted to _know_ Wraith, but didn't know how to go about it. In the games, they are professional, and outside the games, they barely see one another. They do in fact make a good duo, considering they are two-time champions of the games. Bloodhound shook their head, and readjusted their aim. Wraith was in the middle of two enemies, and she needed back up. Bloodhound was about to hop down from their perch to assist, but a voice came through the comms, "Stay put, I have this." That was Wraith. Bloodhound involuntary shivered at her calm, collected voice. Wraith knew how to keep a level head in high stress situations

Wraith knew what she was getting into, she was confident in herself. The R-99 SMG was reloaded, along with a Wingman, she was about to make a dash out to fight, but the voices came.

_**Leave the room.**_

_**Grenade.**_

When she got the warning, Wraith immediately phased and left the room, when she reappeared, the room was blown up. She readied her weapons and listened. Waiting on them to make the first mistake, one that will cost them.

_**Enemies in the room.**_

_**Toss an Arc Star.**_

With that instruction, she pulled an Arc Star from her pouch and whipped it towards the door she exited from. It exploded and stunned two enemies, to which Wraith jumped at the chance to spray them down. She had killed one and pulled the Wingman from her holster and pulled the trigger three times. This only downed the person, they weren't dead, not yet anyway.

_**DO IT.**_

_**END THEM!**_

Wraith winced at the intensity of the voice, but she didn't let it show, she kneeled down to look this person in the face, "Maybe in another time or space, you'd kill me... not this one" she said as she put a bullet through their head. "Two down, one to go" she muttered to herself. She looted their boxed and grabbed an upgraded body armor, some syringes, and ammo. She walked outside, carefully, to get eyes on Bloodhound. She stepped outside and was immediately unsettled.

_**You're spotted**_

_**Behind you.**_

She turned on a dime, but was too late. She felt a pain in her abdomen, she looked down and saw a knife. She cursed herself for not charging the armor fully. She screamed as the knife was twisted in her gut. Her feet were swept out from under her, and the assailant was on top of her. Wraith looked up and saw a masked figure, but not the one she was looking for.

"Hello, _champion_" the person said with malice. "Finally caught up with you, and I'm going to make you suffer."

Wraith attempted to shove the assailant off her, but this person was heavier, and the wound was tearing even more, causing even more pain. She would slip into the void, but with her mind frantic, there would be no guarantee that she would come back to this possibility. _(smol A/N: If that makes sense, she has to have concentration to use it, at least, that is how I'd interpret it.) _

"Quit your moving." Wraith could _feel_ the smirk etched into their face, "I'm going to enjoy this." they chuckled out. Wraith was then stabbed in her arms, making them semi-immobile, unable to defend herself. The person then put a cut to her neck, just a small one, but there was a faint crimson line that lingered behind. Wraith was screaming in agony, this was torture, but not as bad as back in the facility. It was an unbearable feeling. The person then raised the knife, aiming for Wraith's heart, but a shot rang out, and the knife was dropped, but not in Wraith's heart, but on the gravel-sand mix next to her. The body was then lifted off her and Wraith looked into the mask of her squad mate, Bloodhound. That was the last thing she saw before she blacked out…

…

Bloodhound heard the grenade and Arc Star go off and they couldn't sit there anymore. They made their way off the roof and to Wraith's last known location. They heard the Wingman shots and was immediately concerned. Over the last few rounds of this blood game, Bloodhound has taken an interest in Wraith. The way she closes herself off, the way she knows what to do in a split second. In some cases, they noticed that her eyes cloud over and she acts on it. Bloodhound assumed this to be a gift from the Gods, but with the way Wraith acts, Bloodhound has a hunch that it is a curse.

Bloodhound ran through the rooms that Wraith did, seeing the two dead bodies, and death boxes, and they heard a voice that _wasn't _Wraith's. All Bloodhound heard was Wraith's screams of pain and agony. _That_ set Bloodhound off. Bloodhound then channeled the beast inside and let it out. They tracked and followed the footsteps, and saw Wraith on the ground about to be stabbed. Bloodhound raised the DMR, it had a skullpiercer Hop-Up attached so one shot would suffice, and leveled the rifle on Wraith's assailant. One shot was fired, and the person's skull was, well, pierced. That person will have a major headache for a while. Bloodhound set down their weapons to check on Wraith. Wraith's eyes were open long enough to see Bloodhound, then she passed out, from blood loss, or just shock. They were declared the Apex Champions for the third time running. Bloodhound took care of Wraith's wounds before a transport ship arrived to leave for the Apex compound.

_**A week later….**_

Since Apex would host another round in two months, Bloodhound took it upon themselves to care for Wraith, even though it was an excuse to see her. Before Wraith blacked out, she managed to reach up and stroke Bloodhound's face mask. Bloodhound could feel the heat rise to their cheeks in a blush. No one has made Bloodhound feel that way since… _ever._

It is known to many, that Bloodhound is the most famous Hunter/Tracker in all of the Frontier. Not much is known about Bloodhound, only the basics are known. Bloodhound only keeps the mask on in public, and only takes it off when alone. Wraith was on the couch in Bloodhound's apartment, sleeping. So, Bloodhound thought this was the best time to take off the mask and just _breathe_a little. The mask can get uncomfortable sometimes. So Bloodhound went to the bathroom at the opposite end of the apartment. They took off the mask and saw a beautiful person staring back. Bloodhound has had to hide this fact from everyone, no one would believe that someone, who _looks_ biologically feminine, is the best hunter on the Frontier. Bloodhound's golden-brown eyes stared back and looked over their shoulder in the mirror, Wraith was still sleeping. She was wearing a simple t-shirt and short shorts, hair in her famous bun.

Bloodhound stared back at their reflection and saw the short, straight dirty blonde hair cascading down just above their shoulders. Their face was angular and slightly defined cheekbones were the most prominent features. They remembered the reason why they hid their face, it was one reason and it was so personal, they barely even says it aloud.

Movement brought Bloodhound back to alertness, and turned around to see Wraith in the bathroom doorway. How she got over here without them knowing was baffling.

"So that's what you look like." Wraith chuckled

"You are not allowed to tell anyone what I look like, at all." Bloodhound growled at Wraith.

Wraith put up her hands, at least one of them, in surrender, "I wasn't going to, you shouldn't worry."

Wraith then turned around to saunter back to the couch, she made sure to sway her hips a little to see if Bloodhound was staring.

_**Nervous.**_ The voices confirmed that they was indeed staring at her.

Wraith chuckled inwardly, she has had some dreams, few and far between, but normally after a round of the Apex Games. She dreams about what Bloodhound is like _outside_ the arena. She thinks of just _taking_ them, but she was trying to keep a level of professionalism around them.

As Wraith walked away, she swayed her hips, and Bloodhound blushed. They really wanted to take Wraith ever since she saved them in the first round of their first Apex games together. Bloodhound then walked over and sat on the couch next to Wraith, eyeing her wounds. She seemed to have recovered a bit. The first night Wraith stayed overnight, she had a nightmare. It sounded like she was screaming bloody murder. Bloodhound rushed in to see Wraith clutching her head, begging for it to stop. Once Bloodhound wrapped their arms around her, she started to calm down and eventually fell asleep. Bloodhound stroked Wraith's cheek while they held her. It was amazing, and ever since that night, they yearned for contact, _especially_ with Wraith.

Wordlessly, Bloodhound turned on the holoprojector and displayed a highlight reel of the last game. It was unenthusiastic since they were there for it. Wraith kept looking at Bloodhound, not paying attention to what's on screen. Bloodhound looked at Wraith and Wraith looked away with a small blush on her cheeks.

Bloodhound leaned over to Wraith and whispered, "What are you thinking about, _Ást?"_

Wraith didn't know what the last word meant, but it sent a chill down her spine. "What language was that?" Wraith asked.

"Icelandic" was the cool reply. Wraith wanted to hear more. She had an idea

Bloodhound smirked, still at Wraith's ear, "Are you comfortable?" They could see Wraith's full blush.

Wraith disappeared in void particles, Bloodhound's smirk faltered, since they thought they had scared her off, but that changed when a weight was on top of them, pinning them to the couch. They looked up and saw Wraith wearing black _lace_, and _nothing else. _She was straddling them, and Bloodhound withheld a whimper at the contact.

Wraith whispered into Bloodhound's ear, "I'm so damn comfortable." and she kissed them. The voices were humming in agreement. The whimper Bloodhound was holding was released, and Wraith gave them a genuine smile.

Bloodhound was at first shocked she came onto them so quickly, but they weren't going to let her have all the fun. They snaked her hands up into Wraith's hair, undoing the bun, and letting it drape her shoulders. The kiss they were sharing was filled with need, passion, and lust. They seemed to hide their feelings from everyone else, but each other.

Wraith was enjoying this, she was never one for physical contact, but with Bloodhound comforting her for the past week, she was more than willing to let it happen. Her left hand was cupping Bloodhound's nape, while the right was exploring their back, lifting their shirt and running her hand up and down.

The kiss lasted a while, but both had to breathe sometime. They both had puffy lips to match, their eyes were dilated, and their hair was slightly disheveled.

"Shall we take this to the bedroom?" Wraith asked

"We shall, _draugur minn._" Bloodhound stood up from the couch and Wraith instinctively wrapped her legs around Bloodhound's waist.

The night passed by in wondrous love making. They ended up facing each other, legs tangled, bodies covered in sweat and a smile on both of their faces as they cuddled. Bloodhound silently thanked the Alfather for the wonderful blessing that they were given. Wraith slept silently for the first time in who knows how long...


End file.
